DAILY STATISTICS HERE

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✏️ Daily update – National

CONTAMINATIONS
This Friday 20 August, 22,319 new cases of Covid-19 were recorded in 24 hours, according to figures from Santé publique France, bringing the total number of confirmed cases since the beginning of the epidemic to 6,579,675.

The positivity rate, which measures the number of positive cases in relation to the number of people tested, stands at 3.3%.

HOSPITALISATIONS
The number of Covid patients in hospital is now 10,515 (including 887 new admissions).

Hospitalisations in critical care units, which take care of the most serious cases, remain high, with 2,091 patients.

DEATHS
83 people have died of Covid-19 in hospitals in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of deaths in France to 113,264, including 86,689 in hospital.

VACCINATION
To date, 47,321,110 people have received at least one injection, i.e. 70.2% of the total population, and 40,902,443 people have had a complete vaccination schedule, i.e. 60.7% of the total population.

✏️ Regional update

The epidemic data in the Aude and Pyrénées-Orientales thanks to the figures communicated this Friday by Santé publique France.

In Aude, this Friday evening, 101 people were hospitalised because of Covid-19 (+3 in 24 hours). This is the first time that the 100 hospitalisations mark has been passed in the department since 17 May. In addition, 15 patients are in intensive care (+1 in 24 hours), 71 are in conventional hospitalisation (+2), 13 in follow-up or long-term care (stable number) and 1 in other structures. No additional deaths are to be reported this Friday. The coronavirus has caused the death of 381 people in the Aude since the beginning of the pandemic.

The incidence rate continues to fall in the department. It is 371.6 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the sliding week from 11 to 17 August (published on 20 August) compared to 372.1 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the sliding week from 10 to 16 August.

Hospitalisations down in the Pyrénées-Orientales
In the Pyrenees-Orientales, this Friday evening, 130 people are hospitalised because of Covid-19 (-5 in 24 hours). Among them, 26 are in intensive care (as much as on Thursday), 55 in conventional hospitalisation (-4), 35 in follow-up care or long-term care (-1) and 14 in other structures (stable number).
No deaths were reported this Friday in the Pyrénées-Orientales. The number of deaths linked to Covid-19 in the department had not been stable over one day since 13 August. In total, 365 people have died in hospital in the Pyrénées-Orientales since the beginning of the epidemic.

In the Pyrénées-Orientales, the incidence rate continues to fall. In the sliding week from 11 to 17 August (published on 20 August), it was 372 cases per 100,000 inhabitants compared to 393.1 per 100,000 in the sliding week from 10 to 16 August.

✏️ Occitanie: reinforcement of water restrictions in the face of the drought, particularly in the Aude

As a result, the alert level in the Gard, Hérault and Pyrénées-Orientales has been placed on reinforced vigilance.

Crisis situation in the Aude
The department of Aude has been placed in crisis level this Thursday 19 August. Thierry Bonnier, the prefect, has decided to reinforce the water restriction measures on the Berre and Orbieu catchment areas. The other catchment areas are maintained at the level currently in force, i.e. reinforced alert level.

This means that all non-priority water abstractions, including those for agricultural purposes, are prohibited. Only drinking water and water used for health and civil security purposes may still be abstracted.

The situation is particularly critical in the Corbières area, especially in the commune of Durban-Corbières, where the spring that supplies the water network has almost dried up. A tanker had to be called in to fill a reservoir with drinking water, the use of which is strictly regulated. Indeed, access to drinking water is interrupted from 2pm to 6pm and from 10pm to 5am, and the inhabitants of the village must limit themselves to the strict minimum.

In the department, numerous restrictions are also in force: watering public and private lawns and green spaces is prohibited, as is filling swimming pools and washing cars, except for professional installations. Watering vegetable gardens is still possible, but only for two hours a day between 8pm and 8am.
The Aude prefecture is calling on the population to “show exemplary behaviour by scrupulously respecting these restrictions”. Water resources should continue to become scarcer in the weeks to come and the prefecture is already warning that new restrictions should be taken at the beginning of next week.
If the situation does not give rise to fears of potential drinking water shortages in the next few days, this scenario cannot be ruled out, and the prefecture is asking the water management services to prepare for this without delay.

▫️ 24 HOURS OF LE MANS

Today is round four of the 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), the long-awaited 2021 24 Hours of Le Mans.

This year opens a new chapter in the fabulous history of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Indeed, today at 16.00 CEST, the cars of the new Hypercar category, replacing the former LMP1, will compete on the Le Mans track for the very first time.
The teams Toyota Gazoo Racing, Alpine Elf Matmut and Glickenhaus Racing will line up on the starting grid of the mythical track of La Sarthe, alongside the LMP2 and LMGTE Pro and GTE Am categories.

I shall, unusually, not be there for the race but am ready to watch as much as possible on-line, TV etc. I am all set up.

▫️ MUSIC

There are a lot of programs currently about Queen then and now. They show a lot of hits but the one appearing to be common to all programs seems to be this one.

▫️ TRAVEL NEWS

Travel Page. has been updated with the latest information below:

▫️ FUN

Let us see how good your French is

▫️ NEWS FROM ACROSS THE POND 🇺🇸

Some more gems from crazy USA

  ▫️  ADDITIONAL READS FOR TODAY

 📖  The Next Big Challenge for Lunar Astronauts? Moon Dust 

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